Insect expert, FBI agent testify

Insect expert, FBI agent testify
Judge will let defense dispute time of death
BY JESSICA LOGAN, Californian staff writer
e-mail: jlogan@bakersfield.com | Saturday, Apr 7 2007 8:05 PM

Last Updated: Saturday, Apr 7 2007 8:08 PM

The prosecution in the Vincent Brothers trial finished presenting the bulk of its evidence last week.

Brothers could face the death penalty if he is convicted of murdering wife, Joanie Harper; their three children, Marques, Lyndsey and Marshall; and Joanie Harper's mother, Earnestine.

Brothers, a former vice principal, has pleaded not guilty.

His family was found dead on July 8, 2003, and he was arrested in April 2004 on suspicion of committing the murders.

The following is a daily account of testimony from the past week:

Monday: An entomologist said bugs that only exist in the western United States were found on the car Vincent Brothers rented while visiting relatives in Ohio. The prosecution needs to prove that Brothers traveled from Ohio to Bakersfield to kill his family driving this car. The other renters testified earlier they did not drive in the western part of the country.

Tuesday: An FBI agent testified he reviewed the evidence in the Brothers case and believes that the family was killed by someone who knew them and not as a result of a botched robbery or to sexually assault Brothers' wife or mother-in-law.

Wednesday: The jurors were released this day so the attorneys could discuss evidence. The judge ruled the defense can call a coroner's investigator to challenge the prosecution's theory on the time the family was killed. The prosecutor objected to this testimony because she believes the investigator does not have the expertise to render this opinion.

This week: The defense is expected to start calling witnesses Monday.